Catalyst chamber



Oct. 16, 1945.. AL .HUNTlNc-:rroN K 21,387,025

CATALYST CHAMBER Filed Jan. 2, 1.94?

\ INVENTOR Patented Oct. 16, 1945 melma L. Huntington, Norman,

Okla., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation i' Delaware Application January 2, 1942, Serial No. 425,481

Y3 Claims. This invention relates to an improved equipment for catalytic treatment of hydrocarbons,

in which provision is made for improving the heat distribution through the catalyst and for 4facilitating removal of the exhausted catalyticmaterial after use.i o

A primary object of this device is to provide for a uniform distribution of heat. through a catalyst bed, thus avoiding an'otherwise natural tendency for the catalyst to be rapidly deactivated near the'central axis of the chamber because of the high concentration of heat usually imposed in that area' Another important object is to insure a distribution of the flowing medium in such a manner that all of the catalyst material will be contacted andutilized in a substantially uniform degree.

A further object is to prevent channeling of the catalyst by distributing the flow of treated welded or otherwise secured to the rigid shaft 9, and shown as a helical plate l0. Supporting ledges I I and I2 are formed in the wall of. the case hand the circular plates I3 and Ill,` respectively, rest thereon. These plates are extensively perforated or may have large sections cut out -so that the resultant structure may resemble a spoked Wheel. At the center of the plate or Wheel i3 a boss i5 is provided with its central portion bored out to receive and provide a bearing for the shaft 9. The structure M is identical with that of member I3, with the exception that material uniformly over the crosssectional area of the catalyst case.

A yet further objectv is to provide forY closer control over the process in operation, through the combined effect of uniform degree of contact with and uniform temperature conditions across the catalyst bed.

It is also an object to prevent coking of the I catalyst, which would result from excessive'heating of .the catalyst inlocalized areas.

In the event agglomeration of the ycatalyst should occur for any reason, it is an additional object to provide means for easyremoval of the fused material. A

All of these objects and advantages, as Well as othersD .will be apparent from the disclosure which follows.

In the drawing, numeral i refers .to a case or chamber in which the catalytic process is carried I out. Contained in the case is a bed of porous catalytic material 2, which may be of any desired commsition, and which substantially nllsjthe case, an inlet 3 is provided at one end of the structure for admission of thel material to be processed, as a mixture of hydrocarbon gases. for example. At the opposite end of' the case is provided an outlet c for Withdrawal of the resultant product. Suitable flanges 5 and sare provided on the case for attachment of the inlet and outlet pipes by means of the companion iianges l and 8, to which the aforesaid pipes are secured by pipe threads, by welding, or other means. l

Contained in the case and imbedded in the catalyst, is an inserted heat and :flow distributor the bottom end of shaft 9 is machined to areduced section I6 so that the surface 9A will serve as a thrust bearing to support the weight of the insert assembly composed of members 9 and I0. Therefore, the bore through the boss Il will be smaller than that in the boss I5. -The outside diameter of I4 will be slightly less than that of member I3 to permit insertion from above.

The upper end of shaft 9 is fitted with a square shank I8, which may be machinedfrom-the shaft stock. This shank is for the purpose of driving the shaft from some portable source of power Y from the outside when the catalytic unit is shutl down for cleaning out and replacement ofthe catalyst. The shank can be made accessible at such a time by removal of the ange l and the attached inlet pipe 3.

A screen i9 is provided to prevent the catalyst from passinginto the outlet 4. Supporting and reinforcing members 20 are provided under the screen. These reinforcing members may simply bea series of structural angles, welded into the lcase at appropriate spacings to form a grid-like structure.

ln operation, the catalyst case is prepared and utilized in the following manner.

The plate or bearing support I4 is lowered into place on the ledge IAL.r Next the helix IIl is low14 eredin place, the lower end of the shaft 9 being placed in the bearing or boss Il'. The upper bearing support i3 is next lowered over the upper .case and slides down the surface of operations.

Having prepared the unit for use, preheated gas or other material may now be fed through the system in accordance with the requirements of the partcularprocess undertaken. Gases or other media entering at high temperature from the feed line 3 will be caused to follow a spirally devious path "through the catalyst bed. Due to the nature of the path so dened, contact with the catalyst will be widespread throughout the catalyst bed. Heat transfer from the flowing material to the catalyst will, therefore, be uni'- form, and excessive temperatures in localized areas will be avoided.- This means that the catalyst will be deactivated uniformly and will thus give maximum benefits per unit of volume.

Upon kcontinued running, there will come a time when the catalyst will become exhausted,

at which time it will be necessary to shut down l thetop of the case bringing the catalyst material with it. Thus kthe removal of the worn out material is-facilitated.

It is to be understood that the drawing which is a part of this specification shows a preferred 4 form of my invention, but that many variations from this embodiment are possible within the scope of its teachings.4 My invention lies in the broad idea of vuniformly distributing the iiow through a catalyst chamber in order to obtain maximum contact of the medium with the catflyst, at the same time obtaininga uniform radial temperature distribution by means of an inserted helicoid member, and in providing easy means for breaking the member loose from the case to facilitate removal of the 'catalyst when desired. The details of construction are subject to many obvious variations in the matter of helical pitch, fabrication of the helix and its bearing supports, and others.

Having fully disclosed one practical form of my invention, I claim? l 1. A stationary apparatus for catalytically treating hydrocarbons comprising an elongated stationary container fllledwith granular catalytic material, a normally stationary helical plate within said container and surrounded yby the catalytic material, said helical plate being of a diameter to just fit snuglywithin the container whereby the hydrocarbon fluids ow througlithe entire body of lthe catalyst in substantially a helical path, and said helical plate being rotatable for forced turning relative to the container tobreak up catalytic material and removable from the container to remove the -catalytic material therefrom when spent, and a screen at one end of the helical plate through Whichthe catalyst material cannot pass. v Y

2. A-catalyst chamber comprising in combination a body member having a bore therethrough,-

the bore being successively reduced in internal diameter to form two longitudinally spaced lnternal annular shoulders, a perforated end plate having a diameter'intermediate the respective diameter-sof the annular. shoulders to rest on the smaller diameter shoulder, a second perforated end plate of greater diameter than the internal diameter of the larger shoulder to rest thereon, a helical screw baille extending between the two plates and fitting the bore therebetween, the end plates and baille forming at least one helical chamber for receptionof a granular catalyst, one end of the@ helical baille extending through 'one of -the end plates, means ori said s end for rotary driving engagement whereby the helical baille plate may be forcibly rotatedwhen removing the catalyst which may fuse and require breaking loose, and a screen adjacent one of said perforated plates through which the .granular catalyst cannot pass.

3. A catalyst chamber comprising a body having a bore, an inlet and an outlet, perforated end plates extending across the bore and spaced longitudinally along the axis of the bore, a helical screw baffle extending between the two plates and tting the bore therebetween, the end platesA and baille forming at least one helical chamber for reception of a granular catalyst, one end of the helical baffle extending through one of the end plates, means on said end for rotary driving engagement whereby the helical bailie plate may be forcibly rotated .when removing the catalyst which may fuse and require` breaking loose, and a screenadjacent the plate near the outlet through which the granular catalyst cannot pass.

I RICHARD L. HUNTINGTON. 

